A recordal is the formal updating of the trade marks register so it matches reality. Ownership changed, the company was renamed, the address moved, a licence was granted. The mark is the same; the record about it is out of date.

The reason it matters is not tidiness. An assignment that has not been recorded is not effective against third parties. Until the register catches up, the world is entitled to treat the person named on it as the owner.

When you need one

Situation	What is recorded
The business was sold, or the mark was transferred	Assignment
The mark was filed in a founder’s name and belongs in the company	Assignment
Group restructure, or a change of holding entity	Assignment
The company changed its name	Change of proprietor’s name
The registered office or postal address changed	Change of address
Another business is authorised to use the mark	Licence, or registered user
You are changing attorneys	Change of address for service

What goes wrong when the register is stale

What a recordal costs

A straightforward recordal – an assignment, a change of name, a change of address – is in the region of R2,990 for the first mark, with a reduced fee for each additional mark recorded at the same time. Our fees include the official CIPC charges.

Cost turns on what has to be proved. A clean assignment with the deed to hand is quick. A chain of title running through several entities, or a change that has to be reconstructed from old paperwork, takes longer. Send us what you have and we will quote before starting.

• You cannot enforce cleanly. The proprietor on the register is the person entitled to sue. If that is a dormant entity or a former shareholder, an infringement action starts with a paperwork problem.
• Due diligence stalls. A buyer or investor asks for chain of title. An unrecorded assignment is exactly the finding that delays a transaction.
• You stop receiving your own deadlines. CIPC writes to the address for service on the register. If that is a firm you left years ago, renewal and official-action correspondence goes to them, not you.
• Renewal can be missed entirely, which is how marks are lost.

Two addresses, and both can go stale

There are really two channels attached to a mark, and they fail in different ways.

The address for service is the public one. It appears on the register, and it is how the outside world reaches the owner of a mark: a party who wants to oppose it, a business that wants to licence or buy it, or anyone with something to say about it. Email addresses are not shown publicly, so this is the address they use. If it points at a firm you left years ago, those approaches go there – including the ones you would have wanted.

CIPC itself corresponds by email, to the address it holds on file, which is normally whoever filed the mark or the firm that later took it over. That is the practical channel for official actions and deadlines. It is not public, and it is not something you can check by looking at the register.

Both matter, for different reasons. If the filing attorney no longer acts for you, or does not monitor that inbox, official correspondence continues to arrive somewhere that will not act on it – and the deadlines it starts keep running. Meanwhile the public address is still telling third parties to write to the same place.

Recording a change of address for service fixes both at once: the register shows where to reach you, and CIPC updates the correspondence details it holds.

An unrecorded owner is a weaker owner

Leaving an assignment unrecorded is not only an enforcement inconvenience. It can put the registration itself at risk.

The register still names the old proprietor. If that entity has been deregistered, wound up or simply no longer trades, the mark sits in the name of someone who no longer exists. And because the use being made of the mark is by you rather than by the recorded proprietor, that use may not count as use by the proprietor – which is precisely the opening a non-use attack under section 27 is designed to exploit.

A competitor who wants your mark will look at the register before they look at your shopfront. A stale ownership record is the first thing they find.

Renewal is the cheap moment to fix it

At renewal, amendments to the record can be filed electronically. At any other time the same changes must be printed and physically delivered to CIPC by courier, which costs more, takes longer and is less reliable.

If a renewal is approaching, do the housekeeping in the same pass. See trade mark renewal for the dates and costs.

For foreign owners and foreign associates

Most recordal work on the South African register comes from outside the country: global assignments, group reorganisations and portfolio transfers that have to be reflected in every jurisdiction where the marks sit.

We act as South African agents on that work, handle the local requirements and report back in the form your file needs. If you are an associate placing recordals across several jurisdictions, we can quote on a portfolio basis rather than per mark.

Frequent questions

What is a trade mark recordal?

A recordal is the formal updating of the trade marks register to reflect a change: a new owner after an assignment, a change of the proprietor’s name or address, a licence, or a change of the address for service. The mark itself does not change; the record about it is brought up to date.

Why does an assignment need to be recorded?

Because an assignment that has not been recorded is not effective against third parties. Until the register is updated, the world is entitled to treat the person named on it as the owner, which creates problems for enforcement, for due diligence and for receiving official correspondence.

What happens if the register still shows my old address?

CIPC writes to the address for service on the register. If that address is out of date, renewal reminders and official actions go somewhere you will not see them. Marks are lost this way, because the deadlines run whether or not the letter reached you.

Can I record a change of ownership when I renew?

Yes, and it is the cheapest moment to do it. At renewal these amendments can be lodged electronically. At any other time they must be printed and physically delivered to CIPC by courier, at greater cost and with a longer turnaround.

Do you handle recordals for foreign trade mark owners?

Yes. Much of this work originates outside South Africa, from global assignments and group reorganisations that must be reflected in every jurisdiction. We act as South African agents, handle the local requirements and report in the form your file needs, and can quote on a portfolio basis.